1

Shri Vile Parle Kelvani Mandal’s Mithibai College of Arts, Chauhan

Institute of Science and Amrutben JivanlalCollege of Commerce and
Economics. Vile Parle West Mumbai 400056

Tracing Feminism in the Movie 'Hellaro': The Primeval Women

Relinquishing Various Archetypes

In the Subject
INTRODUCTION TO WORLD LITERATURE

UBMM202

Submitted By:

Krisha Mehta Roll No: A023

Under The Guidance Of:

Prof. Taranginee Gupta

To

Mithibai College

Bachelors in Mass Media

FY B.M.M

Year: 2019-2020
 2

Shri Vile Parle Kelvani Mandal’s Mithibai College of Arts, Chauhan

Institute of Science and Amrutben JivanlalCollege of Commerce and
Economics. Vile Parle West Mumbai 400056

EVALUATION CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the undersigned have assessed and evaluated the project
on

Topic- Tracing Feminism in the Movie 'Hellaro': The Primeval Women

Relinquishing Various Archetypes

Submitted by: Krisha Mehta, student of FY B.M.M for the academic year
2019-2020. This project is original to best of my knowledge and has been
accepted for internal assessment.

Name and signature of examiner:

Marks out of 25 /________

 3

Shri Vile Parle Kelvani Mandal’s Mithibai College of Arts, Chauhan

Institute of Science and Amrutben JivanlalCollege of Commerce and
Economics. Vile Parle West Mumbai 400056

DECLARATION BY THE STUDENT

I , Ms. Krisha Mehta , student of FY B.M.M, Roll no: A023, hereby declare
that the project titled:

Tracing Feminism in the Movie 'Hellaro': The Primeval Women

Relinquishing Various Archetypes ,

for subject: INTRODUCTION TO WORLD LITERATURE, is submitted by

me for semester 2 of the academic year 2019-2020, is based on actual work
carried out by me under the guidance and supervision of :

Prof. Taranginee Gupta

I further state that this work is original and not submitted anywhere for any
examination.

Date /place: ________________________________________

Signature of student:

___________________________________________________
 4

Name: Krisha Mehta

Broad Topic: Gendered Reading of movie

World Literature

FYBMM

Roll No.: A023

Mithibai College

Tracing Feminism in the Movie 'Hellaro': The Primeval Women Relinquishing Various
Archetypes

Abstract:

'Hellaro' is the National Award-winning, traditional Gujarati folklore of 2019. The movie is a
real life story which was inspired from folklore of the Vrajvani village in Kutch and real life
instances of patriarchy. The movie shows how the women are suppressed by the shackles of
the society and their lives are bound by the rules made by men which they have to abide by.

This study scrutinizes the diverse aspects of the movie and traces the social quandaries and
obstacles faced by the women in the state of Gujarat in the initial years after the independence
India and how these agonized women vanquish the archetypes of sexism, classism,
superstitions, etc. and take a stand against the despotism and discrimination they were subjected
to in the former years. This research not only contains the study of the feminist approach but
also depicts the rich and ravishing cultural heritage of Gujarat. This movie portrays a struggle
in which women grapple with the social barriers and norms together highlighting the need for
women empowerment.

Keywords: Hellaro, Gujarati folklore, feminism, freedom, art, Garba archetypes, culture,
heritage, mindsets, women empowerment
 5

Introduction:

The India that we see and live in today has a rich history, full of events which has helped mould
it into the diverse and resplendent country it is today. In addition to the abundant resources and
beautifully proffered geography the Indians stir an important message of ‘unity in diversity’ as
people with various religions, caste, creed, race, languages come together and live
harmoniously. In India ‘unity in diversity’ is much more than just a message; it’s a feeling of
celebrating the fraternity and an emotion which delineates the love and respect, the Indians
have for each other and the country. It also outlines that the people in India have the liberty of
thought, expression, belief, faith and worship as propounded in the ‘Preamble to the Indian
Constitution.’ This is just a small glimpse of the Indian beauty as India not only shows diversity
in its citizens but also in its traditions, culture, literature, art, philosophies, etc. After its
independence, India not only progressed in its economy but also the increasing science and
technology brought about a massive impact on the country’s overall growth. The India pre and
post- independence was not completely different but it sure was a dawn of a new era as
independence invigorated new thinkers that put forward ideas and thoughts that helped shape
India into the country it is today.

Man had been worshipping the natural forces like fire, wind, water, etc. since the stone age
which, with the backing of science and development of technology was proven inane. But with
time the belief on humans on these natural forces only fortified as they surmised to be acquitted
since ancient ages. This passed on and man started drilling various customs and practices which
in no way were backed by science rather they were just created by humans to support their
theories about supernatural forces and power of the divine. These various activities were
practiced on domestic as well as social level so as to please various supernatural forces and
God who they contemplated to be the divine power. The various malpractices that they carried
out on the basis of beliefs, God and power; included some very barbaric and inhuman activities
like sacrificing of human and animal lives, sati and many more. These activities were not only
brutal but also mostly aimed at people belonging to the different castes and classes in the
society. As the Indians were blinded by these superstitions and supernatural paradoxes there
came a new surge of literacy which not only brought light onto these issues and ensured that
the people rose from the shackles of these social malpractices but also bestowed them with
reasons backed by logic and science. Education also enlightened the people about their rights,
importance of equality which helped them to relinquish various social dilemmas and obstacles.
 6

The history has always portrayed woman as an effete and craven entity who has to abide by all
the rules and regulations laid by the society as the society cannot envision women stepping up
and trying to live an independent life. The society has always envisaged women to be dependent
on the male species, it cannot visualize a woman’s contribution apart from a benevolent
domiciliary. The society has been male dominant since the very beginning, it has always
suppressed the voice of the women by burdening her with societal norms, traditions and
customs. Women were subjected to atrocities such as sati, female infanticide, child marriages,
domestic violence, marital rapes, sexual harassments, etc. on the name of these traditions and
supernatural paradoxes. Over all these years the society has only seen women as an object or a
sex toy rather than a human being and it has continued till today. They were devoid of
education, freedom to express their thoughts and the patriarchal society objectified women by
raising questions on her character if they stepped out of the boundaries laid down by the society.
The patriarchal dominance not only hampered women’s overall growth and development but
also inflicted mental trauma upon them which caused diffidence in women as it stopped them
from questioning their conditions and stifled their voices as well as actions that were being
raised against the misogynist milieu.

As ‘Audre Lorde’ once quoted,

“I am not free while any woman is unfree,

Even when her shackles are very different from my own.” (Audre Lorde)

There came a waft of feminist movements which enlightened women about their harrowing
circumstances as well as elucidated that they can rise from these shackles and make the
conditions around them better by opposing and standing strong for their rights. ‘Feminism’
included social and political movements and ideologies laid down for the women’s social,
political, economic and personal emancipation i.e. their overall growth, keeping in mind their
opinions and perspectives and be given equal opportunities by exterminating gender inequality.
During these various waves of feminism women didn’t only stand for their rights and equal
opportunities but they also severed the stereotypes by questioning their surroundings and
stepping past their ambits to explore notions beyond their gender roles. The four waves that the
feminist movements were divided into, were a chronology of how the women in the different
parts of the world suffered the atrocities and then rose up and confronted the social iniquities
in different ways throughout the whole of all those years till today. Women had been and still
are fighting for their place in the society.
 7

As ‘Maya Angelou’ rightly quoted,

“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it,

She stands up for all women.” (Maya Angelou)

The feminist movements connected the women from all across the globe to hold hands against
the unembellished surroundings and take a stand for themselves with each other’s succour. As
‘Nelson Mandela’ correctly said,

“ Freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression”

(Nelson Mandela)

Once women were enlightened that they were not supposed to be treated the way that they were
being and that they were the only ones who can change their circumstances, they made sure to
raise their voices for themselves as well as all women across the globe to win the freedom from
the shackles of the patriarchal society.

Gujarat is one such beautiful state in India which has a rich culture and traditions. Mostly
Gujarati (Hindu) people reside in Gujarat but other communities of people like Marathi, Sikhs,
Muslims, etc. are also found here. Gujarat is renowned for its food, festivals, folklore and
literature. Festivals like ‘Makar Sankranti’ i.e. kite flying festival and ‘Navratri’ a festival of
nine nights is celebrated here on a large scale. Every festival in India is celebrated so as to
worship or please one or various Gods by performing activities like dance, Bhajan (traditional
/ religious music), folklores (Bhavai) etc. ‘Navratri’ is known to be the culturally most
important festival in Gujarat. ‘Navratri’ consists of two Gujarati words ‘Nav’ and ‘Ratri’ which
literally translates into nine nights. ‘Navratri’ thus is a festival of nine nights celebrated to
worship nine different incarnations of ‘Goddess Durga’ (Durga Maa). People pray and devote
‘Maa Durga ’the entire nine days of ‘navratri’ by keeping fasts and playing Garba which is a
traditional dance in Gujarat.

The current work is based on the National award winning Gujarati movie ‘Hellaro’ which is a
traditional folklore. This movie is based on real life exemplar of females in the village of
‘Vrajvani’ after India’s independence and how they rose from trammels of the male dominated
society. It shows the daily tribulation suffered by women and depicts how they use 'Garba' a
traditional Gujarati dance form that only men were allowed to practice in those days; as a form
of art to represent their dissent towards the injustice and breaking demarcations to have a taste
of the freedom they had been deprived of even after India's independence. It depicts how
 8

culture, literacy and might come together and helped the women to liberalize their actions as
well as their mind sets as they rose from the curbs of the society that weighed them down for
all those years.

This research paper is a detailed gendered reading of the movie which not only brings light
upon the inequalities the women faced during that time period but how people from various
class and backgrounds face problems in the society and that is one of the thing in the movie
that acts a special connection for the audience apart from the realistic storyline that adds
sentimental value to the whole movie. The research paper mostly contains dialogues and
excerpts from the movie which will be backed by theories and ideologies which elucidate the
excerpts and dialogues mentioned in the movie. Each scene and each dialogue/ excerpt has an
independent essence and origin while the theories mentioned in the paper might overlap and so
can the context and background.

Hypothesis (Body):

The movie starts in a rural setting in the ‘Rann of Kutch’ in the year 1947 that is after India’s
independence. Even after India achieved its freedom and was an independent country the
people in the country were not free from the extremities and confines that were created by the
social traditions and norms. The movie starts with a girl named ‘Sita’ asking her father whether
she can go out, along with him. The following dialogues are a conversation between Sitas
father, Sita and her mother.

સીતા :”બાપૂ હું હાલ તમારા ભેગી.

મા : છોરીઓ થી ના જવાય .

સીતા : પણ કે મ?

પપતા : છોરીઓ થી સવાલ ભી ના પછાય સમજાવી દે એને”

(“Sita: Father can I come with you ?

Mother : Girls cannot go.

Sita: But why?

Father : Girls are not even allowed to ask so many questions explain this to her.”)
 9

The above dialogue depicts how a father turned down his daughter’s wish to go along with him
and furthermore before the father answers the girls question her mother steps in and already
answers it on her father’s behalf by saying ‘girls cannot go.’ As Sita further questions her
mother as for why can’t she go with him her father indirectly addresses Sita by commanding
her mother to explain Sita that ‘girls are not allowed to ask questions either.’ The way the father
indirectly communicates with his own daughter tells one the level of orthodox and devout in
the ancient society where the men maintained less or no conversation with their daughters,
sisters and wives as a matter of fact with any women in their lives.

This not only explains that girls and women were not allowed to go out of the house barring
household activities like fetching water from the outskirts of the village but also they didn’t
have the freedom to raise their voices, ask questions about their conditions and as it had been
continuing since old times the women had made their peace with it and continued to live as
they were in the control of the men in the patriarchal society. They weren’t allowed to talk or
converse freely in their households and among the other people in the village as the men did.
The only time the women talked to each other was when all of them went to fetch water from
the outskirts of the village. The following is one more dialogue in the movie that supports this
explanation.

Lady1 : વાતો રહી જાય તોહ અમને અપચો થઇ જાય.

Lady 2: આ સવારે પાણી ભરવા જયેને ત્યારે બોલીએ અને સાુંભળ્યે બાકી તોહ આખો દી આ જીબધીના દાળ નો મચડું
વાળીને કરપડયામાું નાખી દે વાનું .

મુંજરી: પછી આ મૂુંઝાયેલું નાગ ડું ક મારે તો ?.

Lady 2: તો એનું જેહેર આપણને જ ચઢે બેહેન.

“Lady 1: We feel distressed if we don’t talk.

Lady 2: This morning is the only time when we leave our houses to fetch water and the only time we speak and
we listen. The whole day we are forced to keep our mouths shut at our homes.

Manjhri: What if the same distressed and hurt snake stings you?

Lady 2: Then we are the only ones who will get poisoned.”

Here the women are discussing how they are only allowed to open their mouths and talk the
only time when they go to fetch water. As a new bride comes to the village the women in the
village are very curious to know about her. They wanted to talk with the new bride they wanted
to know about her more. The women were astonished that ‘Manjhri’ was literate and educated
 10

to some extent and they were very curious to know about how she was raised in the town and
what were the differences in the backgrounds of town and village. As women were not allowed
to talk in their houses they felt it freeing when they talked while going to fetch water from the
outskirts of the village because they didn’t have the freedom of speech in their houses which
made them feel mentally distressed. When ‘Manjhri’ gets to know about this she hesitantly
asks a question,

“what if this distressed snake bites you?”

Here the snake is used as a symbol to show the gut-wrenching distress caused to the women
because they were silenced and tranquilized by the male dominated society since the very
beginning. So this question actually means that what if the pain and tranquillity decimates their
inner being and stings them in the process, to which another lady replies that even if it does
come and sting them they are the only one who are going to get hurt and violated in the process.
Thus this says that how these women themselves were trying to break-free but still didn’t want
to cross any boundaries because of the fear imbibed in them since a long time. All these women
wanted was someone to push them towards the door of physical and mental freedom; that
‘Manjhri’ tried to do throughout the whole movie.

The story continues with the men eagerly waiting for the news and weather forecast on the
radio. They get to know that ‘Kutch’ might get rains in the following weeks. They still don’t
get their hopes up because the state had not been getting rains since the past three years even
after the forecast’s predictions that it will rain, so they didn’t expect it to rain in the following
year too. On the contrary they really wanted and were praying for rains or the people had to
leave the village and move to another villages or cities. The men of the village gathered and
were ready to devote prayers and their first ‘Garba’ to ‘Maa Amba.’ The following dialogue is
how the head of the village ‘mukhiya’ prays to ‘Maa Amba’ and tells her to shower her love in
form of rains.

મપખયા: “હે માવડી વરસાદી પૂનમ નો પેહલો ગરબો તારા ચરણોમાું કઈ ભૂલ ચૂક થઇ હોય તોહ અુંદેશો દે જ ે માું કઈ

પિયા, કરમ, બાલી ચઢાવા હે તોહ કે જ ે માું પણ રાત લગાડ ત્રીજે વર્ષે આ ધરતી ને કોરી ના રાખતી પહજરત કરવી પડશે.”

(Mukhiya: “Hey Goddess devoting the Garba for rainy season’s first full moon (in your feet) to you. Forgive me
for we have sinned and guide my attention to where we have mistaken. Let us know if you want us to perform
human or animal sacrifice. But please don’t let this land remain dry for the third consecutive year. We will need
to leave the village and migrate.”)
 11

In the above dialogue the mukhiya asks ‘Maa Amba’ to bless them with rains and also to
forgive them if they have sinned and draw their attention where they have mistaken. He also
brings up performing superstitious activities like human sacrifice etc. which depicts how they
really didn’t break free from the superstitions and traditional and cultural norms. The most
ironic thing about this dialogue is that how the men and the people in the village dedicate and
devote prayers and ‘Garba’ to the Goddess where on the contrary they don’t respect and love
the women around them, their own wives, daughters and the other women in the village. They
pray a female God (Maa Amba) while they don’t allow the females of their own village to
experience freedom, love and respect they offer to the Goddess. This shows how cruel and
acquisitive men were in those days and the way they wanted to have power and dominion over
women and still pray Goddess, in one way they were paying their respects to the Goddess while
on the other hand they were suppressing the women and abducting their basic rights and
freedom.

હું સા: મને તોહ છોકરીજ જોઈએ છે .

મુંજરી: મનની વાત જાણી લે છે નક્કી છોકરી જ હશે.

(Hansa: I want it to be a girl.

Manjhri: It understands your hearts feeling from now itself, I am sure it’s a girl.)

Females are considered to be a benevolent figure and understanding. They are much likely to sympathize and
connect with people more easily. It is considered that women can understand a lots of things naturally and they
can empathize with people’s feelings. In the above dialogue Manjhri is talking to a pregnant woman who wants
her baby to be a girl. Manjhri replies to her by saying it understands what she feels and what her heart says and
that she is sure that it is a girl.

Later in the movie a soldier from the village marries a girl from the town. He knows that she
is a bit literate and the traditions and culture where she was born and brought up is way forward
than that in the village. The following dialogue is the conversation between the newlywed
couple on their first night of marriage:

(અજજન : ભણેલી છો ?

મુંજરી: હા .

અજજન: કે ટલું?

મુંજરી : સાત ચોઘડું .

 12

અજજન: બહ કે વાય. સાુંભળ્યું છે ભણેલી છોકરીઓને પાુંખો ફૂટે અને માથે પસુંઘડા . તને શું ફૂટ્ું છે ? કમાલ છે નાથના
પનયમ પેહલા મયાજદાથી મોટું બીજું કાય નહી એટલે પાુંખો ફૂટ્ા હોય કે પસુંઘડા જાતે જ કાપી નાખજે હું કાપીશ તોહ

વધારે દખશે . સાુંભળ્યું હતું મારી વહ રૂપાળી છે પણ એટલી રૂપાળી છે એવું ધાયું નહોતું)

“Arjan: Have you studied?

Manjhri: yes.

Arjan : How much?

Manjhri; Seventh standard.

Arjan : It is too much. I have heard that literate girls tend to grow wings on their backs and horns on their heads.
What has grown on you? Here in this village you have to follow and respect the traditions as they are valuable
that’s why chop off anything that’s grown on you yourself because if I cut them it will hurt more. I had heard
that my bride is beautiful but I hadn’t even imagined you to be this beautiful.”

These above dialogues depict how not only the whole village was so orthodox and benighted.
They couldn’t stand women leading in any of the streams, backgrounds etc. they just treated
women like property and were territorial about their women. They were so benighted by the
social norms and traditions that they had made sure that women could not experience freedom
of any sorts. Here in the above dialogue the husband after asking his wife about her educational
background makes it very clear that now that she is married and has moved to this village, she
has to follow only the rules laid by the society. Here in the above dialogue the wings represent
the dreams and freedoms that the bride had and the horns represent the intellect and conduct of
the new bride. He also makes it pretty overt that she is not allowed to dream about impossible
things and try to achieve autarky as she is bound and limited to the norms of the society. He
also gave her an ultimatum that if she doesn’t stay in her limits and crosses her boundaries he
will seize all that so called privileges she has and that will be really painful and unpleasant for
her. It was pretty obvious from this dialogue that the women in that society were just considered
to be an object and homemaker. They didn’t get a say in anything including decisions
concerning their lives, needs, freedom etc.

One such confab between the women while they were walking to fetch water from the outskirts
of the town is mentioned below:

“આ અજબ નઈ વરસાદ ના પડે તો એમને ગરબા ગાવાના અને આપણે ઉપવાસ રાખવાના

આ તોહ એવું આજ ને કે આપણે રાડો પાડીયે અને એ બાપ બને.

 13

(women: It’s ironic isn’t it, if there are no rains the men will play and sing ‘Garba’ while we women have to
fast; it’s just like we scream with pain during labour and these men are the ones who become father.)”

Here the women are talking about how simple is it for men to dance and play Garba during
Navratri while they have too fast whole day and sit at home and do household chores. They
have compared it to the pain they endure during labour and then after the birth of the baby the
male experiencing joy and fatherhood. They have indirectly put forward the idea that it is not
fair to the women as they cannot participate in Garba while the men can and they don’t have
any restrictions.

Ironic is that the women in the village had accepted that, this is their life and they have to deal
with it no matter what. They cannot do anything to change the circumstances they are facing.
Thus they didn’t question the rules and traditions laid down by the men in the society. They
just went with it as it was all forced upon them but in a way they were okay with it thus they
tried and followed the rules as it was ascertained if they didn’t follow the rules there were
serious consequences in this case it being domestic violence, sexual abuse in this case marital
rapes etc. There are some dialogues in the movie that ratify the above delineation.

“Lady 1 :સાુંભળ્યું છે રૂપ રૂપ નો અુંબાર છે .

Lady 2: હવે બધા આુંબાર ઉમ્બર ને અુંદર ભણેલું અને રૂપ બધું ચૂલે નાખીને બારે નીકળશે પછી વાુંઢ થી તળાવ અને
તળાવ થી વાુંઢ હાલ્યા કરશે આખી પજું દગી આપણા ભેગી આપણી જેમ.

Lady 1:આપણી જેમ નપહ સાુંભળ્યું છે કે શેહર બાજ ની છે એ તોહ.

Lady 2: બાયડી ન ગામની હોય ન શેહર ની. બાયડી ખાલી એના ધણી ની જ હોય. આ વાુંઢ માું નવી ખાલી વહ આવે
બાકી નવું કઈ થાય નપહ.”

(Lady 1: “I have heard that the new bride is very beautiful.

Lady 2: now leaving her beauty and education on the backburner she has to come with us from river to village
and village to river all day every day, with us like us.

Lady 1: I don’t think so, she’s not like us she’s educated. She’s from the city.

Lady 2: a bride is neither a village’s nor a city’s she’s only and only her husbands after marriage.”)

Here in the above dialogues the women of the village while going to fetch water are talking
about meeting the new bride ‘Manjhri’ saying that she is beautiful and educated. While one
woman in the group says now that she is married she has to sacrifice her looks and education
and just devote her life to house work and family nothing else. She also said that now that she’s
married she will be only walking from the village to the outskirts and vice versa to fetch water
 14

the whole life like them and with them. This portrays how the lives of those women summed
up only with family, house work and other traditions and culture; they had no self –esteem or
value of personal identity. They were mostly dependent on men for their own identity, had self-
esteem issues and in various other aspects of life. The values and traditions of the male
dominant society had grown upon the women upto such an extent that they didn’t only fear
what would happen if they broke those rules but also started giving into and supporting the
beliefs created by the men and the society. Later in the dialogue one woman defends ‘Manjhri’
by saying that she comes from a city and she doesn’t think that she will be okay with all of this
like they were. To which the another lady said that after marriage a woman doesn’t belong to
a city or a village but only to her husband. This dialogue portrays that the men in those days
were quite territorial and they treated women as if they were an object. These small ideologies
had also seemed to make a room in the women’s mind due to which women instead of
supporting each other made sure that the rules created in that patriarchal society were followed
and without thinking they also trailed the tenets.

In those times widows were not allowed to leave the house even for household chores. They
were considered to be unlucky. The people in the village didn’t talk to widows. They were
banished from all the meetings, gatherings, functions, festivals, etc. The problems and the
issues faced by them were turned a deaf ear. They were considered blight and they were mauled
and ill-treated. They didn’t have any kind of freedom and their rights were seized. A set of
dialogues in the movie that support these statements are:

Lady 1:કે સર જીવાભાઈના છોકરાની પવધવા છે . દોઢ વર્ષે પેહલી વાર ઘરના બહાર નીકળી છે .

Lady 2: આ શું કરે છે ? ઘેલી થઇ ગઈ છે કે ?

મુંજરી: રહેવા ડો દોઢ વર્ષે પવન અડે ઘેલા જ થઇ જવાય. મરદાને દોઢ વર્ષે ખબર પડી છે કે એ જીવતું છે

અત્યારે એને જોરથી હસવએ છે અને જોરથી રડવુંએ છે .

Lady 2: તને કે વી રીતે ખબર પડી?

મુંજરી: એની આુંખોના પાપટયા અહીુંયા થી વુંચાય છે .

Lady 1: Kesar is Jivabhai’s son’s widow. It has been one and half years that she has stepped out of the house
for the first time.

Lady 2: What is she doing? Looks like she has gone crazy.
 15

Manjhri: Just let her be. It’s after one and a half years that the benumbed and desolate has got to know that she
is alive. This is the moment when she wants to laugh her heart out and snivel and cry her eyes out at the same
time.

Lady 1: How do you know all this?

Manjhri: I can feel the presence of the fervour in her eyes from here itself.

Here in the above dialogue we can see a conversation between ‘Manjhri’ and a lady from the
village we can clearly see that the widow is considered to be a blight and has stepped outside
the house after one and half year which makes her feel ambiguous and is trying to make sense
of her surroundings. This causes people to discern and say that she has gone crazy to which
Manjhri says that she is unable to substantiate as to what is going on with her and in her
surroundings. She tries to explain them about how she might be feeling, as she got to experience
freedom after such a long time. She also tries to explain how her body and inner-self is trying
to reciprocate and make-out on how to feel about the huge change. After all this another woman
questions Manjhri on how does she know what the widow is going through to which Manjhri
replies that she can fathom what the widow is feeling by the way she is looking around and her
eyes are able to express what she’s feeling and has endured in all this time.

As ‘Kafi Annon’ has rightly said,

“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.” (Kafi Annon)

The quote mentioned above is seen to be taking shape and becoming clearer in the movie with
the entrance of the lead ‘Manjhri’ who grew up in a town and a much forward background than
the village she had to live in after marriage. Manjhri is a complex character, seeing her onscreen
interactions with the other women in the movie is like watching a teacher guide her students
through complexities in certain subjects while here the convolutions were in their lives as they
were treated as objects, had self-esteem issues, were bound by traditional and cultural
practices, superstitions in that patriarchal society all this was only possible as Manjhri was
educated, she knew how to differentiate the right from the wrong, she knew how to tell apart
superstitions, beliefs, natures and facts as she had the specific clarity that was a gift from
literacy and education which helped her to bring light upon the women on how they were
suffering and were bound to the manacles of that patriarchal society. With time and help of
Manjhri the women got aware of their rights and the most important thing was, they started to
voice their opinions and questioned the whole system and their delinquencies.
 16

As ‘Virginia Woolf’ rightly quoted,

“Lock up your libraries of you like;

But there is no gate, no lock, no bolt, that you can set up on the freedom of my mind.”(Virginia Woolf)

The women were bound by all these traditions and cultural norms laid by the men and the
society in those times. With the addition of one educated and literate woman in the village the
perspective of all the women regarding their freedom and rights changed as that educated
woman raised her voice for all the women and which encouraged the other women to stand
strong and invoked their aplomb. It also taught them that they need not abide by the rules
created for them by the men rather they can create their own rules and follow the voice of their
hearts and do as they please not the men. This helped them to break-free from the impediments
and trammels physical as well as mental ones due to which they felt independent and had a
feeling of ‘come what may.’ A few dialogues in the movie shows how ‘Manjhri’ herself broke
rules which encouraged the others to step out of their fears and comfort zones to do what they
seemed was good for them.

મુંજરી: હું મુંજરી.

Lady 1:એની સાતે વાત નથી કરવાની પનયમ છે .

Manjhri: પનયમ પણ એમના ને રમત પણ એમની એનું ભાગ નપહ બનવાનું ભોગ બન્યા એટલું જ બહ છે .

(Manjhri: I am Manjhri.

Lady 1: You can’t talk to her. It’s a rule.

Manjhri: These are their rules and their game. We shouldn’t be the players in it ; it’s enough that we are their
prey as it is.)

Even after clear instructions Manjhri started talking to the widow while fetching water, to
which one of the women said that it is a rule to not talk to the widow in the village to which
Manjhri replied that these rules were created by the men in the society. She made them realise
that the game is created by men and so are its rules. The game here symbolises their lives and
conditions while the rules are the boundaries created by the male- dominant society. Manjhri
totally rebutted the game i.e. their conditions and their rules i.e. social boundaries by conveying
that it’s enough that they have fallen prey to the game as it is i.e. conditions faced by them in
their lives and they should rather not participate in this game by agreeing to the rules laid by
them. This actually enlightened the women to break- free of the rules and try to stand-up for
themselves to fight the atrocities they were facing in those times. With the help of each-other
 17

women got to know about their inner abilities and were able to channel those in the right way
by holding water and fighting for their rights and freedom.

As ‘Brigham Young’ once quoted,

“You educate a man; you educate a man.

You educate a woman; you educate the generation.” (BrighamYoung)

Thus with the help of one educated woman in the village the other women are made to be aware
of the atrocities; and they get to understand that the situations that they were facing could be
solved by just holding their waters and having a strong opinion and voicing the same. Here in
the movie Manjhri is the one who acts as the torch bearer and brings light on the importance
of freedom, self- worth, self –identity and helps each and every character to mould their way
into the better future by leaving behind the social barriers and taking a step forward by breaking
the various archetypes of sexism, superstitions, classism, etc. Some of the dialogues where the
women are able to understand what’s wrong and try to raise their voices against issues under
the wings of ‘Manjhri’ are mentioned below:

ગોમતી : ઉઠ

સીતા: ક્ાું જવું છે ?

ગોમતી: પાણી ભરવા.હવે તરસે નપહ મરીયે.

(Gomti: wake up. Let’s go.

Sita: where to?

Gomti: To fetch water. Now we won’t die of thirst.)

Here in the above dialogue Gomti wakes her daughter up and says that they have to go and
when her daughter asks her where to which she replies to fetch water because they won’t die
of thirst now. In this dialogue water and thirst symbolises their freedom and their desires and
dreams respectively. The women back then weren’t allowed to do anything except follow the
rules laid by the males in the society and complete household chores etc. they weren’t allowed
to do as their heart desired, they had to leave all their desires be it regarding their future,
equality on the basis of gender or simple things like Garba and dancing and singing and basic
rights and freedom of expression and speech. So in the above dialogue Gomti wakes her
daughter to play Garba as the women secretly played Garba on their way to fetch water as
women were not allowed to dance and sing in the village. It was considered to be a sin and they
 18

were told that even if they do play Garba they will be punished so they were restricted to
household chores only. Thus in the above dialogue Gomti wakes her daughter up by saying
that they need to fetch water which is actually playing garba in the outskirts of the village and
which also meant they get to do what their heart desires, they get to experience freedom. All
the women of the village wanted was freedom as they were suffocating beneath the rules and
restrictions of the devout society. Thus the thirst symbolises their desire to live freely and with
equal status while the water symbolises the freedom they were seeking all those years.

The next dialogue is when the women get caught playing garba in the outskirts of the village
by one of the males and then they started to worry whether he will tell the people in the village
about the same. The females were scared as to what will be the consequences of that situation.
They were not actually worried and scared of goddess or the divine power but they were
petrified of what will happen if men of the village come to know and what punishments will
they suffer for just experiencing a bit of freedom that they actually deserved.

મળજી: સાચે આ લોકો તો મારી નાખશે.

મુંજરી: તમારા ઢોલના તાલપર તાળી આપીયેને એટલો વખત એમ થાય કે જીવતા છે . બાકી તો મરેલા જ હોય છે ને અમે.

અહીુંયા હોય છે શ?ું ખરા પવનના સસવાટા અને મૂુંગા મનગાના સન્નાટા.

ના ક્ાુંય હેત નો હાથ , ના કોઈ માયાળ નજર.

અરે માણસ છે માણસ.તમારા તાલ પાર થોડું જીવવા મળે છે . હવે મારવાની બીકે જીવવાનું નપહ છોડીએ.

( Mulji: Seriously these people will kill us.

Manjhri: It’s on the sound of your dhol that we play ‘garba’ that we feel we are still alive. The rest of the time
we are dead. What is here in the desert? except from piquant winds and implicit reticence and silence. No hand
that endows compassion, no eyes full of affection and love. We are humans, we get to live on the rhythm and
beats of your music, now we won’t stop living with the fear of dying.)

Here in the above dialogue when a man from the village sees the women playing garba in the
outskirts the dholi (the person who plays the drums) and the women are scared, because they
think that the men in the village will not leave them and they would kill them. They later
understand that all this time they were dead as they were not allowed to live freely. Thus in the
above dialogue Manjhri speaks on behalf of each and every woman that it’s the rhythm of the
drums that makes them keep their body and souls together, that allows them to breathe and
allows themselves to be. The whole village is situated in the middle of the dessert where there
are no people who are compassionate enough to empathise with people’s feelings and no people
 19

who are affectionate enough to love anything or anyone around them. Manjhri says that there
are just piquant gales and silence in the dessert as well as in their lives. Thus now that they
have got to compensate for all these years, experience the taste of freedom they are not going
to let it go just with the fear of dying. She said that they want to live and they won’t stop living
from the fear of dying. This is what happens when women stand strong and hold their hands
against the misdemeanour and delinquencies against them in the patriarchal society.

Conclusion:

In conclusion I would like to quote ‘Tenzin Palmo,’

“As women become more educated and confident, they can start adding their voice.” (Tenzin Palmo)

This is true that if a woman is confident and educated enough, she will never hesitate to raise
her voice in case of any discrimination and misconduct against her or anyone in the society.
Women are not someone’s property and they shouldn’t be treated as slaves. Women should
have all the rights that men have as they are not equal but far superior to men in all the aspects
of life. It’s just that they have to believe in themselves and come together to rise and help others
rise from the shackles of the patriarchal society.

As ‘Mary Astell’ has rightly questioned,

“If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?” (Mary Astell)

This is one of those questions, that not only catechizes the male dominant society but the whole
of the human race thus it’s important for every woman to know and be aware of their own
rights and should rise for themselves as well as the women in the society. Thus this research
work that is based on the movie helps one to understand how freedom of speech and expression
is important and is a basic right. It also helps one to understand that education is one important
aspect to help one liberalize their words, actions and thoughts. In the end I would like to quote
‘Elizabeth Cady Stanton,’

“Woman's degradation is in man's idea of his sexual rights. Our religion, laws, customs, are all founded on the
belief that woman was made for man.” (Elizabeth Cady Stanton)

With this I would like to put forward that it’s all in one’s mind but women are independent and
quite superior to men. Women are still not aware of their powers and capabilities but once they
are enlightened about the power within them, there is no stopping them from achieving their
goals and desires.
 20

CITATIONS:
FEMINIST QUOTES:

www.google.com/search?q=feminist+quotes&oq=FEMINIS&aqs=chrome.0.69i59l2j69i57j69i59j0l2j6
9i65l2.1681j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

DIALOGUES FROM MOVIE:

સીતા :”બાપૂ હું હાલ તમારા ભેગી.

મા : છોરીઓ થી ના જવાય .

સીતા : પણ કે મ?

પપતા : છોરીઓ થી સવાલ ભી ના પછાય સમજાવી દે એને”

(00:02:52- 00:03:08)

Lady1 : વાતો રહી જાય તોહ અમને અપચો થઇ જાય.

Lady 2: આ સવારે પાણી ભરવા જયેને ત્યારે બોલીએ અને સાુંભળ્યે બાકી તોહ આખો દી આ જીબધીના દાળ નો મચડું
વાળીને કરપડયામાું નાખી દે વાનું .

મુંજરી: પછી આ મૂુંઝાયેલું નાગ ડું ક મારે તો ?.

Lady 2: તો એનું જેહેર આપણને જ ચઢે બેહેન.

(00:22:40- 00:22:57)

મપખયા: “હે માવડી વરસાદી પૂનમ નો પેહલો ગરબો તારા ચરણોમાું કઈ ભૂલ ચૂક થઇ હોય તોહ અુંદેશો દે જ ે માું કઈ
પિયા, કરમ, બાલી ચઢાવા હે તોહ કે જ ે માું પણ રાત લગાડ ત્રીજે વર્ષે આ ધરતી ને કોરી ના રાખતી પહજરત કરવી પડશે.”

(00:06:10- 00:06:37)

હું સા: મને તોહ છોકરીજ જોઈએ છે .

મુંજરી: મનની વાત જાણી લે છે નક્કી છોકરી જ હશે.

(00:30:30- 00:30:34)
 21

(અજજન : ભણેલી છો ?

મુંજરી: હા .

અજજન: કે ટલું?

મુંજરી : સાત ચોઘડું .

અજજન: બહ કે વાય. સાુંભળ્યું છે ભણેલી છોકરીઓને પાુંખો ફૂટે અને માથે પસુંઘડા . તને શું ફૂટ્ું છે ? કમાલ છે નાથના

પનયમ પેહલા મયાજદાથી મોટું બીજું કાય નહી એટલે પાુંખો ફૂટ્ા હોય કે પસુંઘડા જાતે જ કાપી નાખજે હું કાપીશ તોહ
વધારે દખશે . સાુંભળ્યું હતું મારી વહ રૂપાળી છે પણ એટલી રૂપાળી છે એવું ધાયું નહોત)ું

(00:18:30- 00:19:48)

“આ અજબ નઈ વરસાદ ના પડે તો એમને ગરબા ગાવાના અને આપણે ઉપવાસ રાખવાના

આ તોહ એવું આજ ને કે આપણે રાડો પાડીયે અને એ બાપ બને.

(00:40:00- 00:40:10)

“Lady 1 :સાુંભળ્યું છે રૂપ રૂપ નો અુંબાર છે .

Lady 2: હવે બધા આુંબાર ઉમ્બર ને અુંદર ભણેલું અને રૂપ બધું ચૂલે નાખીને બારે નીકળશે પછી વાુંઢ થી તળાવ અને

તળાવ થી વાુંઢ હાલ્યા કરશે આખી પજું દગી આપણા ભેગી આપણી જેમ.

Lady 1:આપણી જેમ નપહ સાુંભળ્યું છે કે શેહર બાજ ની છે એ તોહ.

Lady 2: બાયડી ન ગામની હોય ન શેહર ની. બાયડી ખાલી એના ધણી ની જ હોય. આ વાુંઢ માું નવી ખાલી વહ આવે
બાકી નવું કઈ થાય નપહ.”

(00:20:40- 00:21:12)

ગોમતી : ઉઠ

સીતા: ક્ાું જવું છે ?

ગોમતી: પાણી ભરવા.હવે તરસે નપહ મરીયે. ()

(01:05:22- 01:05:38)
 22

Lady 1:કે સર જીવાભાઈના છોકરાની પવધવા છે . દોઢ વર્ષે પેહલી વાર ઘરના બહાર નીકળી છે .

Lady 2: આ શું કરે છે ? ઘેલી થઇ ગઈ છે કે ?

મુંજરી: રહેવા ડો દોઢ વર્ષે પવન અડે ઘેલા જ થઇ જવાય. મરદાને દોઢ વર્ષે ખબર પડી છે કે એ જીવતું છે

અત્યારે એને જોરથી હસવએ છે અને જોરથી રડવુંએ છે .

Lady 2: તને કે વી રીતે ખબર પડી?

મુંજરી: એની આુંખોના પાપટયા અહીુંયા થી વુંચાય છે .

(00:24:15-00:25:00)

મળજી: સાચે આ લોકો તો મારી નાખશે.

મુંજરી: તમારા ઢોલના તાલપર તાળી આપીયેને એટલો વખત એમ થાય કે જીવતા છે . બાકી તો મરેલા જ હોય છે ને અમે.

અહીુંયા હોય છે શ?ું ખરા પવનના સસવાટા અને મૂુંગા મનગાના સન્નાટા.

ના ક્ાુંય હેત નો હાથ , ના કોઈ માયાળ નજર.

અરે માણસ છે માણસ.તમારા તાલ પાર થોડું જીવવા મળે છે . હવે મારવાની બીકે જીવવાનું નપહ છોડીએ.

(01:09:18-01:09:54)
23
24